info.

[myshtsa]

since 95% of his background is scant, most of this is conjecture. all headcanon is marked with "*" historywip!!! alexei alanovich shostakov | the red guardian born in the early 1960s in southern russia on the fringes of society*. his ancestors were cossacks who served in the tsar's army but alexei was the son of kolkhoz laborers*. mother died in a farming accident when he was young; older brother died of illness; father spent what little money they earned on vodka; older sister escaped the drunken tirades by marrying young but she never left the village*. after a heinous beating, alexei ran away and joined the soviet armed forces in the mid-1970s*. by the early 1980s, he was a decorated war hero* and was selected by general dreykov to become the soviet union's first and only super soldier, the red guardian. engaged in espionage missions*, like stealing nuclear secrets (tho that could be a tall tale from alexei). faced the winter soldier — ended in a draw*. after the fall of the soviet union in dec. 1991, he no longer participated in combat missions as the red guardian and was placed on the shelf. the propaganda war was over so he was no longer needed. besides, by this point, dreykov began fighting his wars from the shadows. 1992 - 1995: with melina vostokoff, natasha romanoff, and yelena belova posing as his family, he went undercover in ohio to infiltrate the north institute (which was a front for s.h.i.e.l.d. but was really a front for hydra). during these three years, the four became close. the mission ended successfully with alexei obtaining the file detailing the cellular blueprint of the basal ganglia and then setting the north institute on fire. the four escaped to cuba where natasha and yelena were separated and returned to the red room. within the next few years, alexei is sent to seventh circle prison for saying something about "the withering of the state" or how he didn't like dreykov's hair. or maybe he talked about how he wanted the "party to feel actually like a party instead of this sourpuss organization." for whatever reason (and i believe it was all three), alexei is imprisoned for the next twenty-ish years until natasha romanoff and yelena belova break him out in 2016. tl;dw (black widow): the family is reunited, dreykov is killed, the red room is destroyed, and the black widows are freed from their brainwashing. alongside his daughter, yelena, he's been taking down the remaining black widow cells. went through a rocky iv training montage and is fit and ready to kick ass. he's not as agile and quick as he was back in the day. but look. it's like muhammad ali after his comeback in '71. the butterfly couldn't float as quickly or for as long and the bee had lost some of its sting, but ali was still fucking incredible in the ring. that's alexei. living his best life with melina in ohio (or montana, i haven't decided yet; point is, they're not in russia)*. ***i'm playing him post-the most current film/series (timeline wise) in the mcu but i'm happy to bounce around.*** personalitywip!!! as the red guardian, he is strict and serious. it's not until he meets melina, natasha, and yelena that he begins to soften. and then, y'know, those two decades in that hellhole prison kinda drove him a bit crazy. see, he and captain america are not so different. they both bought into their countries' ideologies. it's just that alexei chose the losing side. also, the side where dissent is discouraged and opposition is silenced. but, that's the sad thing. alexei believed in it all. he wasn't in it for power or money. he truly believed in the ideology dreykov was selling him. and alexei believed in it so much that he was willing to... let things slide. the ends justify the means. if it meant that some had to get hurt, it was fine if it was for the good of the country. besides, pain makes a person stronger and enables them to reach their full potential. so it's worth it. however, after twenty years, alexei realizes that no ideology is worth pain and suffering. he was wrong then and wrong now to still justify it. seeking melina vostokoff | his heart beats only for her so i want to do dumb fluffy stuff. stuff that would gross out natasha and yelena because ewww there are children present. idk if they knew each other when he was the red guardian but i'd like to do threads from that time. maybe she was his partner?? but maybe they didn't meet until they went undercover in ohio. so i'm interested in doing their early days and when they catch feelings for each other. also, after they return to dreykov and they mourn the loss of their little family (and each other because they know their relationship isn't allowed). give it all to me. ✪ after burning down the north institute, they switch sides and defect. whether hydra or the red room is exposed can be discussed or ignored. let this family be happy pls 😌😌 natasha romanoff & yelena belova | his girls ♥♥ just wanna dad and embarrass the crap out of 'em. he's got a lot of years to make up. but also, alexei and his girls take down black widow cells. their mom packed a lunch for them 😌😌 another thing i'm interested in (which may only apply to nat) would be their time together in ohio. maybe alexei is forced to attend one of nat's games or activities, is bored, but ends up enjoying himself. he'd be one of those sports parents. you know. "the point of little leagues is to win and make the other team cry." black widow ocs | do they see alexei as a father figure, that weird uncle, or a relic desperately trying to stay relevant? or do they see alexei (and melina) as their enemy who was complicit in their imprisonment and brainwashing? let's talk!!! steve rogers | ah, his great adversary. more like his counterpart. a coequal. someone alexei genuinely does respect. so, for sure, i'd love for them to interact. they can fight but, as alexei is older and slower, i'd prefer if it's just friendly sparring. but he will probably talk shit cos lmaoooo alexei is a hater. steve may not think he has an archenemy but, after meeting alexei, he will. ✪ steve rogers is unfrozen in the 1980s. BIG MEATY MEN SLAPPING MEAT 👀👀👀 alternatively tho, steve and alexei teaming up. real-life superpowers. the crowd will go nuts when alexei shows up to save steve. (yeah i'm basing this on the 80s pro wrestling tag team, the superpowers. steve could pull off the "hard times" promo.) ✪ alexei as the red guardian during wwii dottie underwood | the longest of long shots but come on. this bitch be crazy. maybe she's his handler and they have a vague, twisted mother-son relationship? clint barton | hey let's cry about natasha together. but also let's get into a fight at this biker bar. it's what natasha would want. bucky barnes | ay yo winter soldier! you're lucky someone was there to pull him back! he would've kicked your ass!! jk if nobody was there to pull them both back, i imagine they would've killed each other. thankfully that didn't happen. i don't have anything specific in mind. maybe i just want alexei to talk shit and take his shirt off a la randy marsh from that south park baseball episode. is that too much to ask??? any great hand-to-hand combatant | you wanna go????????? misc. aus the guardian | spurred by the love for his wife and daughters, alexei stops being a coward, kills dreykov, and takes down the red room. he also exposes hydra's infiltration of s.h.i.e.l.d. because fuck all fascists everywhere. he drops "red" from his name and becomes "the guardian", a man without a country who goes wherever help is needed. he is more famous than captain america. the winter guardian | basically dreykov's winter soldier. ready to comply. general alexei shostakov | basically the evil au :( does he know where the red room is? of course he does. he runs it. permissions shipping/smut | really only interested in melina. 100% not interested in natasha, yelena, or any other black widow. i may be interested in some light shipping with other folks who are not melina but only during his red guardian days (1980s). smut? eh, ask first. i may be in the mood for it, but i may not be. fighting | 💯💯🔥💯❗️❗️👀👀💯 mind control/telepathy | it is part of his background and canon, so yes. let's plan it out first tho! injury | go for it. death | sure. so long as there's build. should be a real tearjerker. back tagging | i'm a slowpoke and it will for sure happen on my end so i'm understanding of it on others' ends. speaking for myself, i can boomerang on texting threads but tend to be slower on things that require actual thought lol fourth wall breaking | if you wanna do it, go for it. i don't care tbh thread jacking | again sure. especially if it involves nat, yelena, and melina. just make sure the others are ok with it first, and we come up with a general plan.

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